{UAH} Gordon Brown: Johnson ‘is tearing the country apart’

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Gordon Brown: Johnson 'is tearing the country apart'

Scotland is now trapped between two nationalisms, says former PM.

By CRISTINA GALLARDO

8/30/19, 11:59 AM CET

 

Updated 8/30/19, 12:06 PM CET

LONDON — Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Boris Johnson of  "shredding the constitution" of the U.K. and "tearing the country apart" by suspending parliament.

Speaking at the launch of the Our Scottish Future think tank in Edinburgh, Brown said questions are now being raised not just about what type of Brexit the U.K. wants but also about what kind of Britain will be left.

Promoted by

"Only four weeks into his premiership, Boris Johnson is not only shredding our constitution but tearing the country apart with no plan to bring people together again and no unifying national project to ever do so," the former Labour leader said.

The suspension could come into effect as early as September 9, and ends on October 14. Critics of Johnson's decision to suspend parliament say the prime minister is trying to bypass MPs attempting to avert a no-deal Brexit by considerably reducing the parliamentary time available before October 31, when he says the U.K. is leaving the EU. But Johnson said it was "completely untrue" to suggest that Brexit was the reason for his decision.

Brown, who led the U.K. government and the Labour Party between 2007 and 2010, added that Scotland is faced with two "extreme and divisive options."

"Scotland is now trapped between two nationalisms: Boris Johnson's, which is anti-European and ignoring Scotland's interests — and Nicola Sturgeon's, which is now so hardline that she now proposes to exit the U.K. customs union, abandon the U.K. single market and ditch the U.K. pound," Brown said.

"This is now about the very survival of the United Kingdom."

• 

  ALSO ON POLITICO

  First legal challenge fails to stop Boris Johnson suspending UK parliament

  EMILIO CASALICCHIO

• 

  ALSO ON POLITICO

  Boris Johnson vs. parliament

  CHARLIE COOPER

Authors:

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAMs%3D6-xgXJLL7Y%2B_fewRKXRXUj%3DYGJucqCQLQvXpZ5N19BMANA%40mail.gmail.com.